HYATTSVILLE, MD--"Two weeks ago I could not stick with
the Russian women. I didn't know how quickly my fitness level
would come back. Today I felt good and I knew we were on record
pace. My first mile was 5:12. The time at the second was 10:38
and third was 15:58. They were in pretty good shape and I had
to dig a little deeper," said Carole Zajac-Tynan, of Sterling,
VA.

Zajac-Tynan, along with close to 500 runners and walkers,
participated in the race down under at Prince George's Plaza.
The 9th Outback Steakhouse Corridor Classic 8K, the most competitive
race in P.G. County which was held Sunday, November 18, 2001.
The race was a benefit for Special Olympics Maryland, Prince
George's County.

The diverse field included runners from Kenya, Poland, Russia,
and from the military: Navy, Marines, and Army. The top runners
were all competing for $5,200 in prize money. The new course
offered rolling hills though the scenic residential area of Hyattsville.

It took a half-mile around the Plaza for a lead pack of five
to form: Sammy Ng'eno and David Njuguna, of Kenya (West Chester,
PA), Mikhail Khobotov, of Russia (Gaithersburg, MD), Vincent
Temu, of Kenya (Richmond, VA), and Chris Banks, of the Georgetown
Running Company.

Going into the first mile (4:35), by Northwestern High School,
the pack was down to four with Ng'eno in the lead, Banks was
falling off pace. Ng'eno was running side-by-side with Njuguna
for another half mile until he fell back and Temu pulled up to
take over second place. The two-mile time was 9:20.

Ng'eno passed mile three in 14:05 with a 75-meter lead. Khobotov
and Njuguna began to work on Temu and he was caught after the
third mile. Ng'eno had a 100-meter lead after mile four and was
on record pace. Ng'eno finished in first with 23:34 and collected
the $500 plus $100 bonus for the new event record.

Njuguna ($350) was able to overpower Khobotov ($200) and finished
second in 23:55 to 24:01. Temu ($100) was fourth in 24:12. Banks
($75) finished fifth in 24:47.

"This was a tough course. It was a challenge from behind
and ahead. I want to come back and do 22 minutes. I want to put
the spikes on for my father (Naftali Temu), the 1968 Olympic
gold medallist in 10,000 meters," said Temu.

John Tuttle, of Douglasville, GA, was the first Masters in
25:12 and collected $300. Tuttle missed a new record and $75
dollars by two seconds. The record was set last year by Chris
Fox. Joe Abernethy, of College Park, MD, was second in 25:42
($250), Dave Berardi, of Baltimore, MD, was third in 25:44 ($150),
and Jim Hage, of Lanham, MD, was fourth in 25:51 ($75).

Abernethy was first Masters (25:19) in 1999 and third Masters
(26:30) last year. Berardi was second Masters (26:09) last year.
Hage was the overall winner in 1997.

"Very competitive--too competitive, actually, for this
old man, but I'll be back," said Hage.

"The course was challenging, but fair. There were some
hills in miles 2 and 3. As a matter of fact, there were a lot
of ups in the 4th mile. I passed the first mile in 5:36. I knew
I was in trouble with those gradual ups coming up. Joe Abernethy
told me this was a course for strategy not speed. I thought about
going out easy and not killing myself," said Mick Slonaker,
of Columbia, MD, finishing second in the 50-54 age group in 29:56
(35th).

At 3½ miles into the race along Wells Road, Irina Safarova,
of Russia (Gaithersburg), was holding a lead over Zajac-Tynan
and Dorota Gruca, of Poland (Gaithersburg). They missed a critical
turn to get back on Adelphi Road. The three runners ran long.
The fourth runner, Heather Hanscom, of Team Pacers (Old Town
Alexandria), made the correct turn.

At the point where the leader came back on course, Safarova
was now back in fifth place and Gruca and Zajac-Tynan were in
the lead. At the point of the error they were all on a record
setting pace of close to the 26:40 range. The record was set
by two-time winner Naoko Ishibe in 1999 (27:20).

OFFICIAL FEMALE WINNER
HEATHER
HANSCOM (28:03).
GEORGE BANKER PHOTO

The judges ruled to award first to Safarova, Gruca in
second, and Zajac-Tynan in third. Hanscom was fourth in 28:03
and Grace Njoki, of Kenya (West Chester), was fifth in 28:24.
The prize money for the women was the same as the men. In the
case of the top three, the money was added and then divided equally
to their agreement. Fourth place on was correct. Hanscom's time
will be the winning time for 2001; the first official time for
running the course as measured.

Lee DiPietro, of Ruxton, MD, was the first Masters in 29:45
(7th), setting a new record. The old record was set by two-time
winner Roberta Leopold last year (36:67). Gretchen Triantos,
of Rockville, MD, was second in 30:35 and Linda Wack, of Germantown,
was third in 31:29. Vanessa Cox, of Laurel, MD, was fourth in
31:38.

Admiral Paul Ryan, of Arlington, VA, was the fastest 50-year-old
in a time of 28:23 (23rd place) and collected $50 for first in
the age group 50-59. Larry Dickerson, of Burke, VA, collected
$50 for being first in the 70-79 age group with a 37:34 (78th
place).

"If American runners would like to test themselves they
should come and run this race. It's a nice training ground. If
you can run well here you can run anywhere. The course and organization
was that wonderful. It gave us a new focus on how to achieve
our long cherished goals," said Jeff Chege, the coach for
Temu.

VANESSA COX, 4TH FEMALE
MASTERS
IN 31:38. GEORGE BANKER PHOTO

"There weren't too many 'mid-pack' types at the
start, it didn't seem--speed, speed, and more speed. I went through
mile one in 6:07 and through mile two in 5:58 and mile three
in 5:58. All in all, a good event, a fair course. I ran pretty
even splits given the rolling nature of the course, and was pleasantly
surprised to see all the people coming back to me," said
Jim Adams, of Baltimore, second in the age group 45-49 in 29:54.

"So I got two Outback bar-b-qued chicken sandwiches,
won a baseball hat for winning second in the 45-49 age group,
and then won an Emmy Lou Harris CD 'Red Dirt Girl,' as a random
prize. Plus I joined the PG Road Runners," added Adams.

Sabrina Garcia and Janice Crudup brought out some volunteers
from Girl Scout Troops Cadette 473, Senior 3910, Association
21 Service Unit 11. "It was good having the troop out as
course marshals. We have some special-needs girls in the troop."

The runners enjoyed the postrace refreshments provided by
the official hospitality sponsor, the Outback Steakhouse. Some
of the additional sponsors were the City of Hyattsville Recreational
Department, Prince George's Plaza, Washington Metropolitan Area
Transit Authority (Metro), and adidas Stripe 3 and Runner's World
magazine.